Over a year ago, I removed the "carpet" style headliner from my new (to me) 1979 S2 9.2A to repair some core damage in the deck. The repair was successful but now I need to replace the headliner and I do not want to go back with the "fuzzy" stuff. I would like to use the foam back vinyl but am a little intimidated by the contours made by the coach roof in the area of the v-birth.

Anyone have any tips or tricks? The coach roof on the S2 has very defined corners that form the forward end of the coach roof. I have kept the old chunks of carpet to use as a pattern but believe the vinyl will install differently than the Carpet did. I suspect that the carpet liner might have been applied to the deck when it was still in the mold at the factory. This would have certainly been easier than the job I have ahead of me.

I beleive the vinyl will install just like the carpet. It was probably glued down so the pattern you have should work.

Another alternative to look though would be to velco the headliner in place instead of using glue. That would let you remove it when you need to get to things if that's required. Not sure if it's possible on you boat but mine is set up that way. Velcro and small screws with caps into thin battens glued to cabin top.

If the roof is a concave shape looking at it from the inside then a fabric type material will bunch up better than vynal. It is easier to hide wrinkles with fabric like cloth uphostery material but the plastic is easier to clean. Depending on the amount of curvature you may have to cut a V in the material to make it fit. Use a contact cement and apply it to both surfaces. If you use plastic let in dry almost completely, if using fabric it does not have to be quite so dry because the fabric can breath and the glue can still dry after you have stuck the fabric on. Wear a mask when using the glue inside the boat.
Michael

On my boat, some of the vinyl is attached directly to the coach roof and some is attached to panels and the panels are screwed to the coach roof. It appears where there are smaller areas of vinyl they glued it on. On the newer version of my boat they use almost exclusively panels. I know why! The glued vinyl has sagged all over the boat. It someplaces it has come completly down. It is the foam type of vinyl and the vinyl has come away from the foam. I have tried gluing it back on with 3m supper adhesive, Bostik supertak and contact cemet. The contact cement has lasted the longest, but it is sagging in places.

I am fairly convinced that panels with the vinly contact cemented to it and then screwed into the coach roof is the way to go! Any other experiences???

Put one inch thick battens accross the boat about 15 inches apart. Put a wood strip around all the edges. Staple a headlining material to the wood battens and the edges. Cover the staples with a half moon shaped piece of wood.
Michael

Ran across this letter to the editor of a South African yachting rag, for what it's worth..
=========================
Is Your Boat a Death Trap?
Sir
Does your boat have any foam insulation? Has your boat got decorative foam-backed vinyl stuck on the deckheads and bulkheads, two-part foam, or sprayed foam?
The moment this foam starts to powder you are in danger of killing yourself or your crew. The foam in question is a polyurethane foam; it is the only foam that powders. It is broken down into a fine powder through heat and moisture, just what boats in the tropics encounter. It is only a matter of time before this happens.
This powder is highly toxic, as are urethane paints. The chemicals used to make urethane products are:
À Toluene-2,4-Diisocyanate
À Toluene-2,6-Diisocyanate
À Methyl Isocyanate (responsible for the Bohpal disaster, used for pesticides)
À Hexamethylene Diisocyanate
À 3-Chloro-4-Methyl Phenyl Isocyanate
À Isophorone Diisocyanate
À Methylene Bisphenyl Isocyanate
How do I know that this is toxic? I was unaware of the toxicity of this foam and when I was delivering a Prout Snowgoose 37 from the Canaries to Cape Town, the foam-backed vinyl that was stuck all over the deckheads and bulkheads started to powder and fall down. It was cosmetic not structural so I did not think it serious.
I ended up with severe edema of the respiratory tract and was unable to breath properly for three weeks. The three crew all had different symptoms and all were affected. Not bad, 100% hit rate.
The boat was eventually abandoned and we were rescued by a Spanish long-liner, a Korean car carrier and the Brazilians, all of whom were fantastic, and to whom we owe our lives. The boat was lost. I ended up in hospital for 10 days on cortisone, antihistamines, and having my lungs washed out. The medical staff at the hospital were super. I could not ask for better treatment.
We all still suffer from side effects and pollution makes our lives miserable as the problems come back.
A friend had the same problem on her steel boat with the hard version of the foam and got severe dermatitis, which continued for three months, with other symptoms, after leaving the boat. She still suffers outbreaks - even synthetic clothing materials cause a breakout.
Severe sinusitis, flu-type symptoms, itchy eyes, eye damage, sinus, coughs, asthma, reduced respiratory capacity, headache, nausea (mistaken for seasickness), vomiting and irritability, pulmonary edema, phlegm, fatigue, allergic reactions, kidney and liver damage, loss of memory and concentration, cancer, miscarriages, birth defects and death are all caused by these toxins. The effects can be both acute and chronic and once sensitized you will have problems for the rest of your life and be in danger of death if exposed again.
Why have the maritime safety authorities not done anything?
I would suggest that should you require further proof of the above, do some research. The internet provides a huge amount of information on this.
You have been warned.
Meme Grant
Durban
Letter shortened. Ed.

As far as my knowledge extends. And which sailboats have this type of foam. I wouldn't know? But, yes. That could be a very big concern, to any owner & passengers aboard any boat that could have this problem.

Let's just hope. That only a few boats have this problem?

__________________
CaptainK
BMYC

"Those who desire to give up Freedom in order to gain security, will not have, nor do they deserve, either one." - Benjamin Franklin

Has anyone ever tried regular house insulation rather than foam to insulate the headliner????

I wonder how it would react with the hull/cabin sweating. When I pulled the headline from my boat there was some mold and stupid rusty staples. The headliner was held in with monel staples but not the foam.

Bryan, I am a big fan of the luan door skins and battens. You can paint them, stain them or varnish them for whatever look you want.
Now for just a bit of thread wander, what do you think of the S2? Is yours the center cockpit. I considered one of the CC's awhile back, and am very intrigued by the boat, but have not sailed on one. I am not really planning on another boat, but I would like to know a bit more about the S2. The CC appears to have a pretty good sized aft cabing for such a small boat.

Some have had good results using that coroplast corrugated signboard material with vinyl upholstery contact cemented over it. The cores should run athwartships , accross the curve, held up by wood batens.
Brent

On the subject of perils of the sea from unexpected quarters, I got to thinking about the fact that many steel hulls are insulated with spray-on urethane foam. Anyone have any experience with the stuff crumbling like the foam in those limey headliners? If so, any respiratory problems? I leaning toward steel for my next "hole in the water" --- I can live with the maintenance issues (life is maintenance, then you get recycled), but I've already reached my lifetime quota for inhaled copper dust, isocyanates and epoxies.